Job 28

¹Silver has its fissures where it is first found, and gold has a place where it is melted

²Iron is taken from the earth, and ore, unbound by heat, is turned into brass

³He has established a time for darkness, and he has settled on an end for all things, as well as for the stone that is in the gloom and shadow of death

⁴The burning separates a pilgrim people from those who have been forgotten by the feet of the destitute man and from the unapproachable

⁵The land, where bread appeared in its place, has been destroyed by fire

⁶Its stones are embedded with sapphires, and its soil, with gold

⁷The bird does not know its path, nor has the eye of the vulture beheld it

⁸The sons of merchants have not walked there, nor has the lioness traveled through it

⁹He has stretched out his hand to the rocks; he has overturned the foundations of the mountains

¹⁰He has cut rivers through the rocks, and his eye has seen all precious things

¹¹The depths of rivers he has also examined, and he has brought hidden things into the light

¹²But, in truth, where is wisdom to be found, and where is the place of understanding

¹³Man does not know its price, nor is it found in the land of those who live in sweetness

¹⁴The abyss declares, “It is not in me.” And the sea says, “It is not with me.

¹⁵The finest gold will not be paid for it, nor will silver be weighed in exchange for it

¹⁶It will not be compared with the dyed colors of India, nor with the very costly stone sardonyx, nor with the sapphire

¹⁷Neither gold nor crystal will be its equal; neither will vessels of gold be fitted for it

¹⁸The exalted and the eminent will not be remembered in comparison with it. Yet wisdom is drawn out of concealment

¹⁹The topaz of Ethiopia will not be equal to it, nor will it be compared to the purest dyes

²⁰So then, where does wisdom begin, and where is the place of understanding

²¹It has been hidden from the eyes of all living things, just as the birds of the heavens escape notice

²²Perdition and death have said, “With our ears, we have heard its fame.

²³God understands its way, and he knows its location

²⁴For he beholds the limits of the world, and he looks upon all things that are under heaven

²⁵He created a counterweight for the winds, and he suspended the waters to measure them

²⁶At that time, he gave a law to the rain and a path to the resounding storms

²⁷Then he saw and explained it, and he made ready and examined it

²⁸And he said to man, “Behold the fear of the Lord. Such is wisdom. And to withdraw from evil, this is understanding.